10,000m² of Glass Art Spanning 800 Years — From Medieval Masterpieces to Gerhard Richter
Cologne Cathedral contains an astonishing 10,000 square meters of stained glass — enough to cover two football fields. These windows span from the 13th century to the 21st, making the cathedral a living museum of glass art.
Many of the medieval windows survived World War II because they were carefully removed and hidden before the bombing of Cologne. After the war, they were painstakingly reinstalled over several decades.
Created by artist Gerhard Richter, this breathtaking modern window features 11,500 squares of colored glass arranged in a seemingly random pattern — actually based on the colors of the cathedral's medieval windows, processed through a computer algorithm.
The window measures 113 square meters and was controversially installed to replace a 19th-century window destroyed in WWII. It divides into 72 colors across an abstract mosaic that shifts appearance with every change of light.
South transept — best viewed in morning light
The oldest stained glass windows in the cathedral, dating from around 1260 AD. These tell biblical stories in vivid reds, blues, and golds — including scenes from the Old and New Testaments.
They survived both time and war because they were removed before the WWII bombings and hidden in salt mines for safekeeping.
Clerestory of the choir
Donated by King Ludwig I of Bavaria during the 19th-century completion campaign, these five enormous windows depict scenes from the life of Christ. They represent the finest stained glass of the Romantic era.
South aisle of the nave
One of the finest examples of medieval stained glass artistry, depicting the Adoration of the Magi — fitting imagery for the cathedral that houses the relics of the Three Kings.
North aisle chapel
10,000 m²
c. 1260 AD
11,500
72
Entry to the cathedral is FREE — the light show changes every hour